Flexible gear



S. C. HATFIELD Nov. 13,

FLEXIBLE GEAR Filed March 1927 a .H. Iv

Patented Nov. 13, 1923.

'sorrUYLnR o. rm'rrrnnn; OFBALTIMORE, MARYLAND FLEXIBLE GEA R.

'A'pplicationfiled March 9, 1927. SerialjNn. 173,929;

In the, various driving connections involv ing toothed gearingdifiiculties are encountered stripping of the tooth on accouutot thesudden change of torque, binding and grinding due to slight inaccuracyof aligninc .1, binding and grinding due to toocl meshing of the g arsand play, duo towea ()ftlie teeth. Th so dillioultics are wholl p;'tially ov come byv the pro sion of the flexible. gear which is the suloi? the in vention. lVhilo it isvdescribedzin ctun'iection witha toothedgear-ing,it may be utilized with various types of gearing, Within thescope of the inventioin I The gear embodyin tlie inventionl in thepreferred torn compll es 4 1. inner hub menr, her and an orer rimntienlb'er which Qnl'l'zlrQS the teeth or other engaging meanswith ah X-.ible annular pad between the members and securedtoboth of them,

This pad may, it

desired, be hollow and inflated and it is preferably constructed withinner and outer beads and the hub and rim members are provided with beadclamping, or other inner and outer peripheral securing means for thepad.

In the accon'ipanying drawings I have illustrated a flexible gearembodying the tea turcs of my invention in the preferred form.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation partly broken away for convenience ofillustration.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. 7

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicatethe same or similar parts in the diilerent figures, the flexible gear,as shown, comprises an inner or hub ion 1, an outer or ring section 2provided with peripheral driving means shown in the form oi teeth 3. I

tihe r memberQ is spaced outward radially from the hub member 1, i. e,of an inside diameter considerably greater than the outside dian'ie'teroi the hub and there is an annular pad 4 between the hub andrim'sections secured to both said sections. The hub member 1 is mountedon a shaft 5 to rotate therewith.

In the form of the invention shown, the annular pad a is provided withinner and outer preferably inclined to conform, to the corresponding-inclln ationo'it-he bead,vthe same being of aa'edlwingtaper toward thecenteroif the hub. The/inner boa d G is engaged on one side by theflange 8 and onthc other side by a correspondingly tormeril bead clanmiug, ring the ring being drawn up agz'tinst the bead andclamped tothe luabby moansoi: bolts 10 accdalong the uzrinhery of theh ub,'passe'dthrough the ring 9 and threaded into the flange 8 in suitable apertures11 therein. The outer bead (K which fits in. ,de the ring member isclan'iped to said member 1 y means (1 clamping ,rin gi t which engagesan annul ,1" shoulder 15 withinthe rin in the plane oi the corrc mudingsurface or thebeadtlie ring being lured by me ns of bolts 16 which,

,1 the bolts l0,aro parallel to the axis. These bolts, as shown, are,passed through a" second clampingring l7 seated on an opposite shoulder18 corresponding to the shoulder. 1;") and spaced therefrom preferablyby a little less thanthe width of the bead, The clamping rings l t and17 are drawn tightly against the shoulders 15 and 18 and against thehead 7 by tightening the nuts 19 on the pelt? 16, the latter beingspaced along the ear.

It is, of course, not essential that both the rings 17 be made removableand they may 7 be provided with any preferred additional means forpreventing slippage of the. rim in the direction of the circumference,The bolts 10 and 16 are passed through suitable apertures 20 and 21 inthe beads.

The pads 4; may be of rubber, rubber and fabric, or other suitableflexible material, as rawhide or artificial fibrous material and theymay be hollow and, if desired, inflated to vary the flexibility, a airvalve 22 for this purposebeing shown. 1

The structure shown is also provided with annular strips of sheetmaterial 25 enclosed within the bead clamps in any suitable man-v ner toprotect the pads from oil and grease or other circumstances which mightcausedeterioration. I y

It will be understood that the flexible feature provides forslightyielding of the gear in the direction of rotation, i. e., in aperipheral direction, which greatly reduces the shock due to variationof torque in starting,

stopping and the like, such yield being ca pable of variation bydifferences of flexibility and dillerences of inflation. Thepad alsoprovides a slight degree of yield laterally,

taking up variation of alignment and preventing undue friction. T heflexibility also provides tor a yielding 1n the direction of the radius,which may be used to take up play due to Wear and for other purposes,aspreventmg undue radial pressure and grinding.

I have thus described specifically and in detail a single embodimentofmy invention 1n the preferred form in order that the nature andoperation oi the same may be clearly understood, however, the specificterms herein are used descriptively rather than in a limhaving beadclamping means on its inner periphery and the hub member having bead"clamping means on its outer periphery.

2. A machine gear having an outer ring adapted to engage a cooperatinggear, a hub member surrounded bythe ring member and spaced therefromradially, a hollow pad being inner and outer beads, the ring membertween the huband ring member, the pad having inner and outer beads,thering member having bead clamping means on its inner periphery and thehub member having bead clamping means on its outer periphery, and

a means providing for infiationjoi'r' the pad.

A machine gear comprising an outer toothed ring, a vhub membersurrounded by a and spaced inwardly trom the rlng, a flexible padbetween the hub and ring and means securing the padto both the hub andring, the

securing means being in the form of an inner and outer bead on the padand inner and outer bead clamping means on the ring and hubrespectively, the clamping means comprising a rib encirelingthe'hub onone side of the bead, a removable ringon the other side of the bead,bolts for drawing 'the'ring toward the rib clamping the head to the hub,

' the clamping means on the toothed ring comprising tWo rings andconnecting bolts and an inner projecting rib on the toothed ring withWhich rib the bead registers, the rib serving asarsupporti or theringsbetween which it isengaged and clamped to the bead.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this Ttlrda-y of March, 1927. p v

SCHUYLER e. HATFIELD.

